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By COLIN A. YOUNG

BOSTON – Attorney General Andrea Campbell plans to stay on the sidelines in the donnybrook between Auditor Diana DiZoglio and the Legislature, at least until the two sides wind up in a “legal dispute” if DiZoglio seeks to exercise her new auditing...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

Days after Massachusetts voters embraced Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s mission to audit the Legislature, the Methuen Democrat formally notified top Beacon Hill leaders that her office is reviving its recent probe and seeking missing information.DiZoglio,...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Massachusetts voters have a lot of big decisions to make this election season, including who should serve as the next president, whether U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren gets a third term, and the fate of five proposed laws.Those stakes do not extend all...

By SAM DORAN

Lawmakers say they’ve got the Department of Correction’s ear after 66 representatives and senators wrote to Gov. Maura Healey this week asking for immediate action to improve prison safety in the wake of September’s attack at the Souza-Baranowski...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

Legislative leaders have few specifics ironed out for a potential return to formal business after they failed to find agreement last week on a major jobs bill and several other popular proposals.With Beacon Hill now fully ensconced in summer vacation...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

Towns across Franklin County have signed letters in support of a paint recycling bill that advocates say could save municipalities money and help protect the environment.Bernardston, Northfield, Montague, Deerfield, Sunderland and Hawley have signed...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Massachusetts drivers could be banned from FaceTiming their friends and livestreaming onto social media platforms while they’re on the road under legislation the House quietly passed last week.Lawmakers approved a distracting driving bill (H...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Leyla Connolly’s battery-powered wheelchair has been broken for over a year. As she waits for it to be fixed, she is consigned to her Dorchester apartment, where she feels trapped without a safe way to leave to get groceries, go to doctor’s...

By SAM DRYSDALE

BOSTON — Two powerful lawmakers are trying to push a widely supported bill to ban toxic “forever chemicals” over the finish line before the looming end of session, but neither said Tuesday that the issue is a priority for their branch.House Speaker...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

BOSTON — The House of Representatives voted unanimously Wednesday to pass a bill that, if signed into law, would prohibit a practice commonly known as “home equity theft,” or the governmental taking and reselling of tax-foreclosed property without...

By CHRIS LARABEE

Two bills inspired by the stories and concerns of Franklin County residents are working their way through the Legislature and are “on track to pass,” according to Sen. Jo Comerford, who worked with her constituents to get the pieces of legislation...

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

The state Senate unanimously passed an amendment to its annual spending plan that would prohibit municipalities and private companies from taking the entire equity of a home in the event of a tax lien foreclosure, a piece of legislation that, if...

By BRENDAN NORDSTROM

Cheryl Juaire lost two of her sons to the opioid epidemic — Corey died from an overdose in 2011, as did Sean 10 years later in 2021.Juaire, founder and president of the nonprofit Team Sharing Inc., now advocates for overdose prevention centers in...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

AMHERST — Climate change’s impact on farming, as well as emerging areas like urban agriculture, soil health and pollinators, are a focus for the University of Massachusetts Extension Agriculture Program, which continues to help farmers adapt and...

By XINYI YANG

BOSTON — Area lawmakers’ proposals to require menstrual products to be available for no cost in all state buildings, establish special dorms for students in recovery, and consolidate overlapping higher education financial aid programs all cleared a...

By SAM DRYSDALE

Senators next week will vote again on a bill to update the state’s sex education guidelines, something the chamber has already approved four times without getting buy-in from the House.The Senate Committee on Ways and Means polled the so-called...

By DOMENIC POLI

GREENFIELD — Four women representing western Massachusetts in the state Legislature visited Greenfield Community College on Monday for a panel discussion about health care with second-year nursing students.State Sen. Jo Comerford was joined by state...

By SCOTT MERZBACH

NORTHAMPTON — Prohibiting PFAS from consumer products sold in Massachusetts remains an objective for Sen. Jo Comerford, who sees a recently advanced legislative bill to protect soil and farms from such contamination as an important first step to...

By ALISON KUZNITZ

BOSTON — Aiming to strengthen participation in advanced classes among Black and Latino high school students, lawmakers sought to build momentum Tuesday for a framework that would streamline how public colleges accept AP credits.Redrafted legislation...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — Senate Democrats rolled out a wide-ranging gun reform bill Thursday, targeting a vote in one week on a police-endorsed measure that is likely to generate considerable opposition among firearm owners.After months of closed-door talks between...

By CHRIS LISINSKI

BOSTON — The climate crisis is fueling a steady growth in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather, and Massachusetts cities and towns face an increasingly common conundrum trying to respond to those emergencies.Many of the disasters that have...